BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

When the Padres put the first pitch of a plate appearance into play, they are hitting .330, according to Baseball-Reference.com. If the Padres take the first pitch and it's a ball, those plate appearances have produced a .264 average but a .376 on-base percentage. If they take the first pitch and it's a strike, those plate appearances have produced a .201 average and a .251 on-base percentage.

Khalil Greene and Kevin Kouzmanoff, in the ninth inning of Wednesday's game, each hit a routine flyout off the first pitch from Cardinals closer Jason Isringhausen. The outs came after Adrian Gonzalez had worked Isringhausen for a leadoff walk with the Padres trailing 2-1 – and before Milton Bradley reached Isringhausen for an eight-pitch walk.

Padres CEO Sandy Alderson considers on-base percentage more significant than slugging percentage. Entering yesterday, the Padres ranked last in the NL in on-base percentage and several of their players had OBPs under .300, including Marcus Giles (.297), Greene (.264), Kouzmanoff (.287) and Michael Barrett (.230 in 29 games with the Padres).

KEY FACTORS

Player of the Game: Joel Piñeiro. Matched against Chris Young, who had a 1.08 ERA in his previous 15 games, Piñeiro came out on top by throwing seven scoreless innings. He improved to 3-0 against the Padres. Piñeiro got several lineouts and issued no walks.

Offense: The Padres were without leadoff man Brian Giles (sore ankle) and No. 3 hitter Milton Bradley (hamstring). They put only one leadoff man on base, Scott Hairston, and he was thrown out trying to stretch a single. They hit three doubles off Piñeiro, but two came with two outs.

Pitching: Young allowed only one run entering the seventh, a sign that he is recovered from an oblique injury that had caused him to miss two starts. Young's deception was still extremely effective. He repeatedly beat hitters with a fastball clocked at 88 mph. Doug Brocail had worked 7 2/3 scoreless innings over his last seven outings before allowing a three-run home run. Two of those runs were charged to Young.

BY THE NUMBERS

1 Earned runs the Padres scored against Cardinals starting pitchers in three games, a span of 21 innings.

1-3 Padres' record in the four-game St. Louis series.

71-134 Padres' all-time record in St. Louis.

4 Innings in which the Cardinals scored in the four-game series.

20 Points Chris Young's majors-leading ERA rose, to 2:02.

2-for-22 Cardinals second baseman Adam Kennedy against the Padres this year.

WHO'S HOT

Rick Ankiel: The former Cardinals pitcher made his major league debut as an outfielder and hit a three-run home run off Doug Brocail.

Joel Piñeiro: The former Red Sox reliever, making his home debut for St. Louis, tossed seven shutout innings.

WHO'S NOT

Marcus Giles: Making his 94th start, the Padres second baseman went hitless, dropping his batting average to .225 and his on-base percentage to .295.

Adam Kennedy: Signed to a $10 million contract in the offseason, the Cardinals second baseman went hitless, dropping his batting average to .217 and his on-base percentage to .282.

TEAM TRENDS

The Padres sank to 12-15 since the All-Star break, 17-11 for the year against the NL Central, 29-27 on the road and 16-6 in shutouts.

THE GAME CENTER

HOW THEY LOST (5-0), COMPILED BY TOM KRASOVIC

Heard it at the game: “I liked his arm. He's got the arm and he has the ingredients to be a starter.” Bud Black on Wil Ledezma, who will make his first start for the Padres tonight.

IN THE FOURTH ...

With two outs, Scott Rolen hit a hard one-hopper to the glove side of Padres third baseman Morgan Ensberg. Ensberg didn't get in front of the ball, which caromed off his glove and was ruled a single, the first hit against Chris Young. After Chris Duncan worked Young for a walk, Yadier Molina hit a clean single to right to score Rolen. Young then struck out pitcher Joel Piñeiro, who was the No. 8 hitter as part of Tony La Russa's unorthodox lineup.

IN THE SIXTH ...

The Padres lost a hot hitter, Scott Hairston, to a strained left oblique when he attempted to stretch a leadoff single. Hairston, who had lined the ball to left-center, grabbed at his left side while running toward second base; the throw from left fielder Duncan arrived well ahead of Hairston, who was tagged out. A .400 hitter for the Padres, Hairston had doubled in his previous at-bat. Terrmel Sledge replaced Hairston in left.

THE TURNING POINT

IN THE SEVENTH ...

Young, appearing in his first game since July 24, had thrown 89 pitches in 93-degree heat when he faced left-handed slugger Duncan leading off the inning. Duncan earned a six-pitch walk. After failing to get down a bunt, Molina, the No. 7 hitter, slapped a single to left to put Duncan on third. Young threw a wild pitch on ball four to pinch-hitter So Taguchi, scoring Duncan. Reliever Doug Brocail entered and induced two forceouts. But Rick Ankiel, the former Cardinals pitcher who was debuting as an outfielder, lined a 2-1 pitch into the right-field seats for a three-run home run.

IN THE EIGHTH ...

The Padres, down 5-0, went down quietly against Troy Percival, who relieved Piñeiro. Two hitters with on-base ercentages below .300 – Marcus Giles and Kevin Kouzmanoff – made the first two outs and Sledge grounded out.